Wednesday, 16 December, 2020 - 10:45
FILE PHOTO: A soldier stands at the devastated site of the explosion at the port of Beirut, Lebanon August 6, 2020. Thibault Camus/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Beirut - Nazir Rida
Two former Lebanese ministers charged with negligence over a huge explosion at Beirut port in August that killed 200 people indicated on Wednesday they would not appear for questioning before the judge handling the case.
Judge Fadi Sawan charged three former ministers and the caretaker prime minister last week, sparking a fierce debate about whether the judge had the authority to charge the politicians in a nation still seeking answers about the blast.
Lebanon’s PM declines questioning over Beirut port blast
Diab had been questioned by Judge Fadi Sawwan as a witness earlier but now he would face questions as a defendant.
Monday 14/12/2020
Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab announcing his government’s resignation amid popular outrage over the deadly Beirut port explosion, last August. (AFP)
BEIRUT – Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Hassan Diab, has declined to be questioned by the judge who charged him and three former ministers with negligence over the Beirut port blast, an official source said on Monday.
Persons familiar with the case said Monday the premier has already given the prosecutor all the information he has. They spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.
Reuters Reuters
15 December, 2020, 12:25 pm
FILE PHOTO: Lebanon s Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri speaks as he stands near caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab at the government palace in Beirut, Lebanon, December 11, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir/File Photo
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister, Hassan Diab, has declined to be questioned by the judge who charged him and three former ministers with negligence over the Beirut port blast, an official source said on Monday.
Judge Fadi Sawan’s charges have met pushback from influential parties including Shi’ite Hezbollah and Sunni leader Saad al-Hariri, underlining the political problems facing the investigation.
Lebanese are still waiting for answers more than four months since one of the biggest non-nuclear blasts on record. A huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate detonated in August after being stored unsafely for years, killing 200 people, injuring thousands and devastating entire districts.
Beirut, Lebanon – The judge investigating a devastating explosion at Beirut’s port in August has doubled down on a decision to interrogate the country’s outgoing prime minister and former ministers despite a campaign against him by Lebanon’s political and religious elite.
Judge Fadi Sawan on Monday set new dates for the questioning of the high-profile political figures after they declined to comply with interrogations he had planned to begin on the same day.
The judge had last week charged Prime Minister Hassan Diab, former public works ministers Ghazi Zaeiter and Youssef Fenianos and former Finance Minister Ali Hasan Khalil with criminal negligence in connection with the explosion that killed 200 people, wounded more than 6,000 and wrecked large parts of the Lebanese capital.
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Lebanese are still waiting for answers four months since one of the biggest non-nuclear blasts on record. A stockpile of ammonium nitrate, stored unsafely for years, detonated in August, killing 200 people, injuring thousands and devastating entire districts.
Some politicians accused Sawan of being selective and overstepping his powers by charging ministers. Others, including the head of the Beirut Bar Association, said the move showed courage.
The outgoing premier has said everything he has to say about this file, full stop, according to his office. Diab, who has testified as a witness, quit after the disaster but continues to serve in a caretaker role.